Slippers better than Boots for family feat

For a jockey who is only 20 years old and had not ridden at Aintree before, Niall 'Slippers' Madden showed the coolness of a man much older, wiser and more experienced. His father, known as 'Boots', had finished fifth on Attitude Adjuster in 1988, but readily admits that his son is a better jockey than he ever was.

As Ruby Walsh had done on Papillon in 2000, Madden made his debut ride a winning one on board a willing partner in Numbersixvalverde.

After a false start, caused when Ross Comm stuck his head over the tape, the field was recalled and Madden jumped off towards the rear.

Numbersixvalverde avoided the five fallers at the first fence, which included the well-fancied Innox, and kept out of trouble for most of the first circuit, with no more than four horses behind him.

Once Silver Birch, Jack High and Heros Collonges had gone at The Chair and various others had pulled up, 24 went out on to the second circuit and Madden started to creep into the pack.

The horse, who had won the Irish National at the end of last season with Walsh on board, barely made a mistake over the 30 fences. Madden deserves plenty of credit for sitting quietly, allowing him to get into a lovely jumping rhythm and avoiding falling jockeys, loose horses and all of the other hazards of a Grand National.

However, the decision for which he should be congratulated most was the one he made turning for home with two fences left to be jumped. He moved to the outside of Hedgehunter and Clan Royal, ensuring that should either of them make a mistake, he would not be impeded and, crucially, he didn't move a muscle.

Rarely would we have seen six jockeys turning for home with not one of them starting to push their mounts along. All of them knew that if they were to get the most out of their mounts, they would have to play their cards as late as possible.

Walsh, who had stayed loyal to Hedgehunter, rode patiently as he tried to conserve his horse's energy, knowing that 11 stone 12lb would start to take its toll. Tony McCoy, on board Clan Royal, was trying to do the same while Risk Accessor, Inca Trail and Nil Desperandum were still going well.

Of the six, Hedgehunter and Numbersixvalverde had the most stamina, but as they cleared the last and the crowd roared, many men having their first ride in the National might have panicked and gone for the stick too soon. The run from the last to the winning post is over two furlongs and is far from straight. A line has to be taken to negotiate the elbow without upsetting the momentum of the horse's stride, because they are short on petrol by this stage and any movement that is too jerky can lose the race (as happened to Clan Royal two years ago).

Madden took a good line, waited until the elbow to press the button and surged past Hedgehunter in decisive fashion. Last year's winner ran a gallant race in defeat, but could not give a stone and four pounds to a horse with proven stamina.

As for McCoy, he finished third for the third time, having won the battle with the hard-pulling Clan Royal to make him settle. A mistake at the 19th may have proved costly when Clan Royal landed on top of the fence with his belly.

Many horses would have fallen and plenty of jockeys would have come off, but McCoy was grimly determined that the partnership would stay intact this year. It was that determination that ensured they snatched third place from Nil Desperandum in the very last stride.

Nina Carberry, riding in her first National, thoroughly enjoyed the experience on Forest Gunner, keeping the bright little chestnut jumping sweetly throughout. He simply does not stay and lost touch before the race got serious, last of the nine finishers.

After the hullabaloo had died down, the cheers had rung dry and the crowds had collected their money, I went to the stables to check on the horses. Rachel Kirtley, the groom of Tyneandthyneagain, was in floods of tears, inconsolable because her horse had fallen at the first fence, got up and carried on before falling again when loose. His spinal injury was so bad that he had to be put down and she had lost the horse that she loved.

Munching grass as if he hadn't been fed for a week, Numbersixvalverde was oblivious to everything, while Hedgehunter was equally happy and docile. Both looked as if they had barely had a race. Hedgehunter's groom, Mia Niemela, has the strongest Irish accent I have ever heard from a Finlander.

'There's not a bother on him, to be sure,' she said. 'But I have to keep him from trying to hog the limelight. He didn't win it this time, after all.'

Valentyn Gevelenko, who looks after Numbersixvalverde, said in broken English that he had seen clips of the Grand National on the news when he was growing up in the Ukraine. Or at least I think that's what he said.

The language between man and horse needed no translation. He was as proud as punch, just as Boots Madden was of his Grand National-winning son, Slippers.